DEMOCRACY DENIED IN BELARUS

Thursday, October 19, 2000

DEMOCRACY DENIED IN BELARUSHon. Ben Nighthorse Campbellof Colorado

Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, I am pleased to join as an original cosponsor of this resolution introduced by my colleague
from Illinois, Senator Durbin, to address the continuing constitutional crisis in Belarus .
As Co-Chairman of the Helsinki Commission, during the 106th Congress I have worked on a bipartisan basis to promote the
core values of democracy , human rights and the rule of law in Belarus in keeping with that country's commitments as a
participating State in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Back in April the OSCE set four
criteria for international observation of parliamentary elections held this past weekend: respect for human rights and an end to
the climate of fear; opposition access to the state media; a democratic electoral code; and the granting of real power to the new
parliament.
Regrettably, the Lukashenka regime responded with at best half-hearted measures aimed at giving the appearance of progress
while keeping democracy in check. Instead of using the elections process to return Belarus to the path of democracy and end
that country's self-isolation, Mr. Lukashenka tightened his grip on power launching an intensified campaign of harassment
against the democratic opposition and fledgling independent media. Accordingly, a technical assessment team dispatched by the
OSCE concluded that the elections `fell short of meeting minimum commitments for free, fair, equal accountable, and
transparent elections.' The President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE confirmed the flawed nature of the campaign
period.
We recently saw how Slobodan Milosevic was swept from power by a wave of popular discontent following years of
repression. After his ouster, Belarus now has the dubious distinction of being the sole remaining dictatorship in Europe.
Misguided steps toward recognition of the results of Belarus' flawed parliamentary elections would only serve to bolster Mr.
Lukashenka in the lead up to presidential elections slated for next year.
This situation was addressed today in an editorial in the Washington Times. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a copy
of this editorial be printed in the Record following my remarks.
I commend Senator Durbin for his leadership on this issue and will continue to work with my colleagues to support the people
of Belarus in their quest to move beyond dictatorship to genuine democracy .
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:
From the Washington Times, Oct. 19, 2000
[FROM THE WASHINGTON TIMES, OCT. 19, 2000]
Battle for Belarus
In Belarus last weekend, the opposition leaders did not light their parliament on fire as their Yugoslavian counterparts had the
week before. They did not crush the walls of the state media outlet with bulldozers or leave key sites in their capital in
shambles. No, the people living under the last dictator of Europe met this weekend's parliamentary elections with silence.
Opposition parties rallied the people to boycott, and what they didn't say at the polls, the international community said for them.
The U.S. State Department declared the results `not free, fair, or transparent' and replete with `gross abuses' by President
Alexander Lukashenko's regime. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Council of Europe,
the European parliament and the European Union said the same. The dictator's allies got most of the 43 seats in districts where
the winner received a majority of the vote. Where no candidate received a majority of the vote, run-offs will occur Oct. 26,
another opportunity for the dictator to demonstrate his unique election methods. However, a record-low turnout in many towns,
claimed as a victory by the opposition, will force new elections in three months.
What will it take for the people to push Mr. Lukashenko to follow Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic into political oblivion in
next year's presidential election? Nothing short of war, if one asks the international coordinator for Charter '97, Andrei
Sannikov. `I don't know how the country survives. [Approximately] 48.5 percent live below the poverty level,' Mr. Sannikov
told reporters and editors of The Washington Times. `That increases to 60 percent in rural areas. It would provoke an extreme
reaction anywhere else. Here, they won't act as long as there is no war'.
But the people of Belarus are getting restless. Out of the 50 percent of the people who don't know who they support, 90
percent are not satisfied with Mr. Lukashenko and with their lives in Belarus , Mr. Sannikov said. The dictator's behavior
before last weekend's elections didn't help any. In his statement three days before the elections, Rep. Chris Smith, chairman of
the OSCE, listed just a few reasons why the people should take to the streets: `Since August 30, the Lukashenko regime has
denied registration to many opposition candidates on highly questionable grounds, detained, fined or beaten over 100
individuals advocating a boycott of the elections, burglarized the headquarters of an opposition party, and confiscated 100,000
copies of an independent newspaper.'
Mr. Sannikov, a former deputy foreign minister, was himself a victim last year when he was beaten unconscious, and three ribs
and his nose were broken, in what he said was a government-planned attack. He and the rest of the opposition don't want to
be victims in next year's elections. If the opposition can rally behind one formidable leader, war won't have to precede
change--nor will Mr. Lukashenko once again make democracy a fatality.